Magi: The Awakened King's Vessel
by aStarofDreams
Summary: For the past 300 years since the great "Dark Times", the ancient world of Magi has become a new steadfast hope for lives of magicians and humans every where. Peace has been found and for a while it has been held strong and true, but for some unknown reason, the recent dungeons have not had one single king vessel emerge victorious. This is the story of Reja, a destined fate.
1. Chapter 1: Reja

**Disclaimer:**

 **I take no credit for the original work of Magi, this is only a fan made story!**

 _Hello to all! I haven't written a fan fiction in YEARS. YEARS I tell you! But after watching and reading Magi (One of my favorites anime's/manga's) I was persuaded to take it to a keyboard and type up a whole new adventure from my mind. I'm very excited for the potential this story holds and I hope you all really enjoy it! Thank you!_

 **Chapter 1**

 _Reja_

 _The ancient world of Magi has become the setting stone for the past three hundred years. After the great apocalyptic "Dark time" peace has seemed to become an every day norm for both magicians and humans as life seems to carry on despite there still being everyday hardships. Dungeon divers are still supposedly said to be seen around however for the past five years years not one soul has been able to conquer a dungeon, creating a huge disturbance in the world-and this is where our story begins..._

 **Gahli [small market town]**

 **Leim Empire**

"Look, if you're not going to try to be of any use then stop wasting my time and GET OUT." a large brute man says as he grabs someone and throws them outside to the ground where several people gasp and pause to look.

"Lousy kids these days." he says once more before walking back through the darkened door and slamming it shut. The person who had been thrown to the ground spits out some blood and pulls up their sleeve to wipe it off their mouth. Noticeably at first the person has long dark entangled hair, almost black, that is ruffled in a red sash with a strand of green and blue beads dangling off near an ear. The rest of him is, despite his fall, only partially dirtied by the sand however he still stands to dust his black pants and white cloak.

"Tch. If I had a better left hook, I would've socked him." he says as he gazes down at his hand which was already starting to bruise from the burn he had achieved not long before he was kicked out of the kitchen. He groans as he twists his neck and sighs up at the blue clear sky. "What now?"

"Reja! Reja!" a younger male voice yells from down the road, as he maneuvers his way around the crowds of people moving around the market. The 'Reja' whom he'd been calling turns to look at the young boy as he comes running to him. The boy has long green hair and wears white trousers with a grey teathered tunic. " . ." he says gasping for air.

"Azzam? What on Earth are you doing here? You know your parents don't like it when you come to the market place alone. It's dangerous." Reja said as he crossed his arms with a disapproving look at the shorter boy.

"Honestly I'm not some young little kid. My parents worry way too much for their own good. And anyway you're only three years ahead of me, just watch, I'll be working soon too." Assam says with a determined nod. Reja inwardly smiles at the boys genuineness and ruffles his hair.

"Well I guess." Azzam throws off Reja's hand. All of sudden a mass bumps into Reja, knocking him over a stand and causing collateral damage to it.

"Heh, so much for those petty words of yours?" Reja groans in pain from the broken wood under him and from his hand, as glances over at the one responsible. A young blonde girl, probably around the same age as Azzam, glares up at the three overpowering brute men, standing a few feet from her with grins on their faces. The girl looks down at the ground clearly knowing her chances were slim against the men. "What's this now? You're finally going to submit to us, little girly?"

"Forget it creep. I'd rather die than go anywhere with the likes of you." she says spitting on his shoes. The largest of the men steps forward, looking very angry and very ready to hit something. He goes towards the girl and grabs the collar of her shirt, lifting her from the ground. She cries out in pain as Reja notices the large indented cut on her leg. He grimaces and stares at the scene, no longer being able to bear it. He grabs a large pice of the broken wood and chucks it at the mans head, causing him to howl in pain and step a few paces back.

"W-What the hell!?" the man yells touching the now bleeding spot on his forehead. Reja grabs another long piece of wood and stands in front of the fallen girl. The man starts to laugh and the other join in as well. "What, are you gonna fight me now?"

"If that's what it takes for you to leave her alone." Reja says still holding the wooden stake as if it were a sword.

"Give it up boy. You're no match for us." the man says as himself and the others pull out large swords from their hilts. Azzam yells out to Reja but Reja ignores him and continues to hold his ground. This wouldn't be a first anyway. The two men behind the larger man yell out and charge for Reja head on with the sword, but Reja quickly side steps them and knocks the wood on one of the men's head's sending him tumbling to the ground. The next one tries to give Reja a stab, but Reja blocks it with the wood, allowing the sword to get caught in it and yank it out of the mans hands. He quickly brings the wood down unto the mans head, to knock him out as well. Reja rips the sword out of the wood and throws it to the ground. The last man grunts angrily and pulls out another sword from his hilt. With two swords in his hands he charges towards Reja, all the while swinging them at Reja. Immediately Reja dodges the first swing but gets caught up in the next one as he uses the wood to block the sword, causing him to tumble backward from the sudden force. Reja falls to the ground and loses the wood a few feet from them. The man laughs and points the sword at Reja.

"Now, you die." the man says raising the sword up high just as a huge blow hits him from behind causing him to shift forward to the ground with a grunt. Reja looks over at Azzam who's holding another wooden plank and grinning at him with a thumb up. Reja takes the chance to grab the wooden plank and walk over to the hunched man. The man glares up at Reja.

"Just who do you think you are, you insolent little brat." he says and Reja smirks down at him.

"The name's Reja Nazari, and just for the record; I'm not a boy." And she brings the wood slamming right into the side of his face. The man goes flying towards the broken stand, and passes out. Azzam cheers loudly as several people join him from the crowd of people that must've formed sometime during the fight. Reja breathes heavily and smiles over Azzam. She then walks over to the girl and holds her hand out.

"You ok?" Reja asks and the girl takes her hand with a large grin.

"Absolutely." Once the crowd dies down Reja and Azzam pull the girl over to a shallow place near a small water fountain.

"Look, I don't know what went down with those guys but you really ought to be more careful. This town may be small but there's thieves and brutes always wondering around." Reja says bandaging the large slash on her leg. She nods slowly and glances up at Reja through her eyelashes.

"Thank you." she says and Reja grins at her.

"You're welcome. Azzam may be short but he was able to knock that guy over in an instant as well."

"Oh uh, yes. Thank you as well Azzam." she says to Azzam and he grins sheepishly at her.

"No problem." Reja finishes bandaging her leg, not even noticing the way the girl is staring at her shyly.

"Um. I'm sorry this might be rude but did you really mean what you said...earlier?" Reja looks up at her with a confused look and tilts her head.

"Earlier?" the girl blushes brightly and looks away. Reja looks over at Azzam with a quizzical expression and Azzam shrugs in return.

"I-I-I mean...when you told that man that you weren't...um. a boy." she peeks over at Reja who has a blank expression on her face.

"Oh. Yeah. I'm not. Technically I'm a girl but most of the time people mistake me for being a boy. It doesn't really bother me, especially since most of the jobs I've had have only been given to me because they thought I was a boy. So in a sense I'm not really complaining." Reja says putting her leg down and standing from her crouched position.

"O-Oh. Well, you had me fooled." she says beginning to look disappointed.

"Yeah, I guess I don't help the situation at all with the way I'm more dressed as a boy. My hair too." Reja says pulling at her dark bangs. "Well, we best be off, be more careful from now on okay?" Reja and Azzam begin to walk away.

"WAIT!" she yells from behind them and they both turn to look at her surprised. "Um. I just want you to know that my name is Noura and that I hope we meet again!" Both Reja and Azzam wave to her.

"I hope we meet again too!" and they continue off out of the town. As they reach the edge of the outskirts of town, Reja looks over at Azzam.

"Hey Azzam, what did you come to town for today anyway?" Azzam stares wide eyed at Reja and shuffles through his pocket sack. He pulls out a note and hands it to Reja.

"What's this?" Reja says as she grabs the enclosed scrap paper and opens

"I'm so sorry! I meant to give it yo you sooner but we got caught up in that situation and well...I found this near your front door step before I went to find you earlier. I thought it was kinda serious so I rushed over here to give it to you." he continues to say as Reja opens it and reads the contents. Reja's expressions changes as she doesn't stop to think and just dashes down the, not even stopping when Azzam calls out to her. The only thing on her mind is getting back to the hut.

 **...**

Close to ten minutes later Reja arrives back at the enclosed village and runs through the huts to the very corner one. As soon as she gets there she slams through the door only to find the hut dark and empty. She's gasping for air as she stumbles inside and collapses to the ground. Reja crumples the paper in her fist and stares at the ground. A couple seconds later Azzam walks up to the hut gasping for breath and stands in the doorway.

"It's completely empty, so then that must mean that he-that's he's..." Azzam whispers in disbelief and its enough to cause Reja to throw the note at the wall.

"Th-that b-bastard! How dare he! HOW DARE HE. To just leave me alone here..." Reja tries to hold in the tears but can't help the couple that slip out. Azzam frowns as he stands a couple feet from Reja not knowing what to do or what to say.

 **...**

By night fall, Reja and Azzam are seated near a warm fire pit in Azzams hut. With a small glance toward Reja, Azzam sits discreetly on his bed where as Reja is sitting in a small chair off to the side near the window and fireplace.

"Oh come now honey, it's going to be okay. Here have some warm soup and cheer up." Azzams mother says with a smile as she hands it to Reja who offers a smile in return but doesn't allow it to fully reach her eyes.

"Thank you. I'm very thankful that you allowed me to stay the night here." the mother smiles at Reja and pats her on the shoulder.

"Anytime honey. You, Azzam, and Siraj have always been close, why I really think of you as another one of my children." she continues to talk as she walks away and prepares another bowl. "My goodness, I just can't believe that your brother would up and leave like that, it's really not like Melek to be so sudden." she says with a shake of her head.

"He's always been a good sensible young man, especially after your parents died-."

"Mother." Azzam states boldly to his mother and she turns a bright red. "Oh excuse me Reja, I didn't mean to be so rude." Reja smiles at her and shakes her head.

"It's okay. Thank you for dinner." she grabs another mouthful of the soup and rips a piece of bread from the large half. Azzam still silently watches from the bed taking small spoonfuls of soup at a time, and his mother busies herself back to the soup.

"I just want you to know that we'll always be here for you, Reja and that you're like family to us." she says and Reja knows that inside she should feel comforted but somehow the words only feel like a burden.

"Um, Reja-" Azzam starts before the door suddenly opens with a tall man bursting in with a wide smile.

"Oh darling~! I'm home! Is dinner ready cause you know Siraj and I are plenty hungry from today's work load." he laughs a loud brusque laugh and steps over to his wife, just as Siraj, Azzams older brother walks into the hut with a sack on his shoulder.

"Today we-er, wait...what's with the atmosphere in here?" the father says and notices Reja sitting by the fire and Azzam sitting on the bed. Mother gives him a stern look before shaking her head with a sigh. She motions for him to go outside and she follows him, shutting the door behind her. Siraj calmly sets his things onto his bunk and walks over to grab a bowl of soup. Reja purposefully avoids eye contact with him and stares at the fire. In less than a second Siraj is suddenly sitting crisscrossed on the floor next to Reja and begins to eat as if nothing is going on.

"So, your brother left town." Siraj says catching Reja off guard. Reja stares down at Siraj and then looks away.

"How did you know?"

"He told me." Reja abruptly stands up knocking over his bowl and bread in the process.

"He told you!? What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly as I said. He told me he was going to." Siraj blows on the soup and takes a spoonful into his mouth.

"Wha-but why? Why would he tell you? You and Melek have never even gotten along even though you're so close in age. Why would he choose you over me?" Reja asks almost in desperation. But Siraj only shrugs nonchalantly.

"Siraj, why didn't you tell me about this?" Reja almost whispers as Siraj calmly continues to eat the soup.

"He asked me not to say a word." To Siraj's response Reja is practically seething in rage.

"Ha. You've got to be joking. I can't believe you." Reja balls her fists at her sides. "When it comes to something THIS important then you have absolutely no say in the matter. I don't give a damn if he told you not to!" Reja yells angrily and Siraj sighs, looking up at her.

"Could you please not yell. Anything can be heard through these small walls."

"I DON'T CARE! You're a sick twisted person Siraj! I can't believe I even thought we were friends." Reja says as she stomps past Siraj towards the door, when it suddenly opens to Azzams parents standing, looking at a bewildered Reja. Reja nods a thanks to them before pushing past them to get outside.

"Reja!" Azzam stands to yell out. But Azzam can already see her running in the distance. He goes to stand next to Siraj. "How could you? That was Rejas brother and her only family, how could you let him just leave!?" Siraj remains unspoken and chews on his bread.

"It's not our problem." Siraj says and Azzam grits his teeth.

"How can you say that! Reja's our friend!" Azzam yells.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's just cool things down, okay boys?" Azzams father intervenes as he grabs Azzams shoulder. Siraj then stands up and looks Azzam straight in the eye.

"You concern yourself too much with Reja, what you should honestly be more concerned about is getting ready to join father and I in the workforce. Stop being such a burden on mother and pick up the slack." Siraj steps past Azzam and his father and walks out of the hut. Azzams father sighs and steps away from Azzam who remains unmoving from his spot.

 **...**

Outside the small village, Reja sits in front of a large lake that is directly situated in between the village and Ghali. Reja looks to her side and picks up a rock, she gazes out over the moonlight lake and tosses it perfectly, allowing it to skip several times before sinking.

"I knew I'd find you here." Reja looks up to see Azzam standing with a small smile on his face. Reja doesn't return it and looks back out to the lake. "Look, I came here to apologize on behalf of Siraj, it really wasn't his place to keep anything from you. Somewhere inside he must feel sorry too, even if he's too serious of a person." Azzam says with a small chuckle. But despite the intended humor, it doesn't allow the conversation to feel anymore up lifted.

"It's fine Azzam. I wouldn't expect him to apologize in the first place." Reja says still looking out over the lake. "Do you wanna sit?" Reja says motioning with her eyes to the spot next to her. After Azzam sits, the two sit in silence for a couple seconds before Reja glances up at the sky.

"Azzam, I'm just going to let you know now." Azzam glances over at her. "I'm leaving the village tomorrow." Azzams face falls and he stares incredulously at Reja.

"But, why? Just because your brother left doesn't mean that you should have to leave too."

"No, I need to. I have nothing here anymore. No family, no work, no real home. When you found me earlier in the street, I had just been kicked out of another job, I'm not going to be able to pay for food this week because of it-."

"Then stay with me! Stay with my family, we can help you and make sure that you have somewhere safe to sleep."

"Azzam, it doesn't work that way. I can't continue to be anymore of a burden on your family than I already am." Reja says with a small smile and Azzam winces at the word 'burden'.

"But why? Why can't you? Why must you leave!?" he pleas and Reja shakes her head.

"Because I need to be my own person now. Maybe my brother leaving was a sign that I need to grow up and stop wasting time. I need to figure out who I am, and I believe that If I leave, I'll be able to see that." Reja says looking back over the lake. "...and I have to find him. No matter what, I have to find my brother." Reja takes a quick peek over at Azzam but cant seem to get what he's thinking with his hair covering his expression.

"I got it." Azzam says as he stands, still avoiding eye contact with Reja.

"Azzam...?"

"We should get back now. My parents will start to worry." Reja nods but knows that Azzam just doesn't want to hear anymore. She feels bad but can't seem to find any other reason to stay. If anything Reja only wishes that Azzam could see her point of her and be a little more understanding. But now it only felt more hopeless, and probably all the more reason to leave.

 **...**

The next morning Reja is all ready to leave. She stands inside Azzams hut and looks over at azzams mother who has already started crying. Reja gives her a small smile and the mother takes it as an invitation to hug her tightly.

"Thank you very much for everything. I hope you all stay well." Reja states hugging Azzams mother back.

"Oh my dear sweet Reja, I know you'll be able to find happiness out there. Don't ever lose hope. And if you ever need anything, we'll always be here okay?" Azzams mother says as she steps aside to make way for the father.

"Well, ahem, I'm not good with goodbyes either but uh Reja stay strong, you're a brave girl and I think that you'll find what you're looking for out there. Just be sure not to forget us and come visit someday." Reja grins at the father.

"I will." Apparently her answer was another invitation for a sobbing parent to grab Reja in a big hug. "Father. I. can't. breath."

"Oh." he sniffles and lets Reja go. "Sorry, I got a little carried away." Reja looks around and see no sign of Siraj. Frankly, Reja didn't exactly want to see him either so she supposes it worked out for the best. Especially after how awkward it was to come back late after the lake last night with Azzam and already see Siraj asleep in bed. Ugh, and not to mention how Azzam pretty much ignored her for the rest of the night as well, and when she woke up he was no where to be seen.

"Ah, if you're looking for Siraj he left this morning to get a head start at work. That boy is far too serious for his own good, don't let it get you down, he's just that way." Azzams fathers says and Reja nods silently. "But as for Azzam, I'm really not quite sure where he ran off to." Reja tries to not let the disappointment of Azzam not seeing her off, get to her so she perks up and smiles at the two.

"Well, I must be off anyway." Reja says as she steps through the front door. "Goodbye!" she yells over her shoulder with a few waves to them before turning back forward off towards an unknown adventure that awaits.

 **...**

 **Somewhere far off, in a darkened room...**

"I really must enforce that you finish what you've started, Yaghuth." a man cloaked in black states as he lowers himself in a bow to a younger man seated in a large seat where woman surround him effortlessly.

"Very well Emin. You're consistency is rather annoying, however I'll oblige to your terms...if you oblige to mine. You know what I want and you know what must be done."

"Yes your majesty. As you wish." the cloaked man names Emin bows once more before standing and instantly disappearing into thin air.


	2. Chapter 2: Caravan

**Disclaimer:**

 **I take no credit for the original work of Magi, this is only a fan made story!**

Hello! I must sincerely apologize for the awful lateness at me getting Chapter 2: Caravan out. I had initially planned on releasing the week after I submitted the first chapter, however I made changes to the chapter over and over again because I was confused at which direction I wanted to take the story in first, however I have officially made up my mind and am pleased to release Chapter 2: Caravan. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I want to start releasing a new chapter every week, but sometimes it might be every two weeks. I apologize but I'm about to get back into my classes once again, so I'll be a bit busier. I do plan to keep up with this story no matter what though! Thank you!

 **Chapter 2**

Caravan

 **1 3/4 weeks later**

 **Somewhere outside on the outskirts of Marad [about 1,120 miles from Ghali)**

"I'm only asking for a lift to the nearest imported city, can't you help me out?" Reja asks the short and stout man in front of her. He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

"Look kid, I don't do charity work. If you want a ride you're gonna have to pay up." he says practically spitting the words out.

"B-but I don't have much money, I have to use what I have for water and food." Reja says desperately but the man only grunts.

"Sorry, no money, no ride. This caravan doesn't run for free." he says walking away. Reja angrily kicks the dirt ground and plants herself on the ground. She looks around at the small caravan camp, taking account on the ones that she's already tried. Which that would sadly be most of them. She sighs and opens her sack for the leather jug of water. She quickly pulls it out and holds it over her mouth, but instead of water gushing out, only a couple drops of water drip slowly onto her tongue. She groans and throws the jug down. Looking out over the vast desert-like landscape she lays down and looks up at the bright blue sky. "I miss it." she says thinking back to the village where greenery was its pride. The lake, the trees, the people...she suddenly thinks onto Azzams face and shakes the thought away.

"I could really use some water." Reja says when suddenly a loud rustle of horse hooves stomps on the ground and she feels the sudden rush near her. She shoots up and stares at the stampeding caravan that's just near seconds away before it crushes her. Her eyes widen and she prepares to face the worst when a body mass crashes into her throwing her off to the side. After a few seconds Reja opens her eyes and blinks back into focus, as she sees that her and someone else are cradled next to each other. She pushes herself up and tries to breath after almost having a heart attack from the sudden collision, and notices the other person getting up as well.

"Are you crazy!?" the male voice next to her practically yells in frustration. "Why the hell were you in the middle of the road!?" he says once more and Reja looks back over to the spot from which they had tumbled from, fully realizing that she had been completely blocking the road. She groans inwardly at the awful timing of it all and then glances over at him and notices that he's probably around the same age as her if not a year or two older. He has long dark blue hair with half of it hung in a ponytail and the rest barely reaching the edge of his shoulders. Despite his crude behavior, Reja couldn't help but discern that he was actually kind of-handsome? She immediately realizes what she had just thought and looks away confused. Handsome? Was she really the type that thought about guys as being handsome? Most of life boys had been nothing but rude ignorant crybaby's who couldn't take a hit, and never once had she ever thought of a guy as being handsome. She worries over the situation not even noticing that the guy next to her had been calling out to her.

"Hey! Can't you say something?" he says sounding rather irritated, causing Reja to forget what she had just been worrying over and frown at him. She hadn't done anything to make him look at her as if she were an annoying existence so why was he treating as such?

She glares at him. " _Tha-_ " Reja begins to grit out, when a loud voice cuts her off.

"ARE YOU OKAY!?" a male voice yells out from atop the small hill from where they both rolled down. The guy next to her gets up and strides over to the caravan, leaving Reja to follow suit. The tall lanky guy flinches when the guy that saved her stands hovering over him a few feet. Even Reja hadn't yet noticed how tall he was until he had fully stood up.

"You were going way to fast. You could've killed someone." he says scowling down at the guy.

"Ah...um..." the lanky guy stutters, visibly shaking.

"ENOUGH." a deeper male voice states as a larger man walks out from in front of the caravan. Reja could really only describe the man as tall, large, and with a beard. He took on the form of someone with authority as both the guy who saved her and the lanky guy immediately stopped talking and lowered their heads.

"Now, now Tahir, Waseef accidently lost control of the horses. There's no need to get so upset. However-" the large bearded man peered over at Reja with an apologetic look. "We are very sorry. We lost control of the horses for a moment however this does not excuse our actions since it was your life at stake. If there is anything that we can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Then! Do you mind if I ask where you all are headed?" Reja bursts out unexpectedly.

The bearded man looks partially confused before answering. "We are heading to Narporlia."

Reja immediately lit up. "I'm heading toward Narpolia as well and am in need of a ride, could I perhaps tag along?" The large man rubbed his chin and looked over the two caravans before looking back Reja. "I don't see why not."

Reja grinned and bowed. "Thank you very much. My name is Reja Nazari."

The bearded man smiled at her. "I'm Al, this here is Waseef and Tahir, they are a part of the caravan crew. I hope you'll find comfort with us for the duration of the ride, for now though, I'm going to let the crew know we have an addition to the caravan. We'll be leaving in just a few moments, so be sure to climb in the back before then." he says walking away. Reja felt a rush of excitement hit her before stepping towards Tahir.

"Ah, about earlier, thank yo-"

"Forget it." Tahir says sidestepping her and walking around her. She watches him walk off before mentally wanting to punch something. What a jerk! All she wanted to do was thank him properly. To think that she was going to have to put up with him in an enclosed caravan...

"Don't mind him too much, Tahir is intimidating but I think his intentions are good." Waseef says from her side and she nods. "And also, I'm terribly sorry about earlier! I didn't have to chance to say so sooner but I just want you to know that it wasn't intentional!" he exclaims clapping his hands towards and bowing.

Reja grins and can't help but chuckle. "Well, I'd hope not. Apology accepted. I'm Reja." she says extending her hand to him and he gladly accepts it with a smile.

"Waseef, pleasure to meet you."

...

 **2 weeks later**

 **Near the land of Ishra, a desert like environment, with dry dirt and clear night skies**

"We'll break here for the night!" Al yells aloud for everyone in the caravan and everyone responds with a yes. Once the Caravan has fully stopped everyone climbs out and begins to unload. Reja helps out the men despite Al's persistence that she be safe since he had realized she was a girl after the first couple of days, but Reja had assured him that she'd be fine since it wasn't the first time that she had lifted heavy items. Once the cargo was unloaded it was close to dusk and mostly everything had been set up for the night. After dinner mostly everyone had sat in the usual circle, talking and playing music.

It wasn't a large caravan of people, maybe around fifteen people at the most with only two caravans and five horses. But the group was lively and seemed to really enjoy being around one another so it made everything all the more fun. Reja had sat next to her usual troop of companions; Waseef the tall lanky blonde, Noora; a girl who was about a year younger than Reja whom she had met thanks to Waseefs introductions, and Noha; Noora's lively younger brother who was a spitting image of his sister. Reja looked around noticing everyone sitting in their typical group formations, despite the whole being a circle of all of them, but the men sat with the men, the women sat with the women and the kids, well they seemed to just sit wherever they wanted. Reja looked back towards the men and saw Tahir laughing with one of them. She had never seen him smile besides when he sat with the men, and most of the time his expression was far too serious, especially when he looked at her, but the people liked him and she would notice how his eyes softened for them as well. He liked being here with them, and from her point of view, she could see why.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" Noora says quietly as she leans in over Waseef towards Reja breaking her eye contact away from the men.

Reja blinks. "No, what?"

"The men over there," she motions her head towards the men. "I heard them talking about the dungeons." This peaked Reja's interest and she inclined her head towards Noora. "They said that there's something wrong about the dungeons lately. That they aren't going to be used to find kings anymore."

Reja and Waseef both look down at Noora in shock. "What? That's crazy, there has never been a time when dungeons haven't been used to find kings." Waseef says in a disbelieving tone.

Noora pouts at him. "I don't know if it's true but, that's what they're saying because apparently there haven't been any Kings emerging from the dungeons."

"You mean no one has come back yet? From any of the dungeons?" '

"Correct" Noora says mischievously back to Reja, but Waseef lets out a laugh and rolls his eyes.

"Grow up Noora, I can't believe you still believe everything you hear. Just because someone says something doesn't mean its true." he shakes his head and Noora hits him repeatedly.

"Ugh, Waseef! You're such a bully!" Noora continues to futilely hit Waseef and he laughs dodging her blows. Reja smiles and gets up.

"I'll be back, I'm going to the bathroom."

"Oh, I'll come too!" Noora chimes in but Waseef knocks her on the head.

"You can't follow her everywhere you know."

"URGH WASEEF!" Noora shouts as she goes back to hitting him. Reja walks away with a grin but takes a look back at them before walking away. A few moments later Reja sits on a nearby rock and looks out towards the vast landscape of dirt and heat. She grabs a rock and tosses it out, imagining its really a large familiar lake with trees and the sounds of bugs humming at night.

 _"Hey squirt, what're doing all the way out here?" a voice calls from behind Reja as she turns to see Melek standing in front of the trees, exposing her secret hideout. She ignores his question and looks back forward._

 _"How did you find me?"_

 _He chuckles. "How can I not find you? You're too easy to read." she hears him walk up and sit down next to her but she refuses to look at him._

 _"Not really the most comfortable seating huh." he says and she finally looks over at her brother who is pulling out rocks from under him. She doesn't allow the hidden smile on her face to extend out all the way and glances back forward, trying to focus on the motionless water. "I heard you got into a fight with one of the boys today."_

 _Reja pulls her knees up closer to her chest and sinks her head into her arms. "Who told you?"  
_

 _"Well, Mrs. Dagher is the one who let me know about it, Azzam told her." Reja tightened her grip on her arm, cursing Azzam._

 _"I don't think Azzam is to blame though so don't go beating him up later for spilling. As young as he is a fifth grader right now, he seems to really care about you." Reja stares blankly forward remembering back to earlier that day when Azzam wouldn't stop interfering in the fight to get her to stop. "Reja if you want me to leave then you can just tell me." Her older brother says._

 _He looks at her silent answer and then starts to get up. "They called us beggars." Reja speaks softly and Melek sits back down inclining his head towards her._

 _"Who did squirt?"_

 _"The boys in my class. They were laughing and joking about how poor the people from our small area live, because Azzam and I have to walk halfway to the next town to get to school they know...they all know and laugh. Then they mentioned you, and me. That we're just beggars without parents and that our dead parents must have been just as poor and worthless...So I hit him." Reja says blinking out tears. Melek grabbed Reja and pulled her into a hug as she cried. "I'm sorry Melek, I-I don't want to be a burden b-but when they started talking about mom and dad, I couldn't help myself." she said through sobs._

 _He grabbed her face. "Reja, I don't want you to ever think of yourself as a burden, you got that?_ _Those kids are just bullies, you don't need to listen to them._ _You're the only treasure that mom and dad left for me to protect and I want you to count on me to. You're not alone, okay? You also have Azzam, and I guess Siraj too but he's just really awkward huh."_

 _Reja giggles. "He is...thanks Melek."_

 _"Anytime squirt, just try to be wary in the future, you don't need to put up with people like that, you be the bigger person, and show them just how strong you are."_

 _Reja nods just as Melek grabs a rock and stands. "Wanna see something cool?" he says and Reja watches as he tosses the rock out toward the water and it skips a few times before falling beneath the dark surface. She stands up excitedly._

 _"I wanna try!" she smiles up at Melek and he grins down at her._

 _"Okay just grab a rock and its one, two and swing-."_

Reja is suddenly pulled back into reality as she grabs another rock and tosses it out. That flashback had to be one of her favorite memories of her and her brother, and it only made her want to see him even more. Being around Noora and Waseef didn't help either, especially with the way they playfully acted with each other, it was too similar. She felt her eyes stinging with wetness. Where was he? Why did he leave? Did he have a reason? But why couldn't he tell her, and why did he only tell Siraj? So many questions flew through her head when she abruptly heard footsteps behind her and wiped her tears instantly assuming it was either Waseef or Noora come to find her after being gone so long.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to get some-." Reja stood up and turned to see an unfamiliar face, grinning at her...with a knife pointed at her. She suddenly heard screams cry out from the campsite a little ways away and perked her head in that direction.

The man quickly stepped in her way and pointed the knife closer to her clothing. "Uh uh. Not so fast missy."

She glared at him. "Funny, most people can't tell I'm a girl at first glance."

The man chuckled through his grin stepping closer to her, and causing her to step back and bump into the rock. A spark passed her mind as she stepped back again and tumbled backward over the rock, and in the process grabbed a rock, a rather bulky rock.

"Just like you said Melek, one, two and swing!" She chucked the rock hard at the man not giving him enough time to dodge and hitting him in the left eye. He squealed and dropped his knife. Reja quickly stood and grabbed the knife. The man was bent scowling at her as he covered his eye.

"Y-You bitch!"

Reja stared down at him with ferocity in her eyes as she took the end of the knife hilt and knocked him over the head. He dropped to the ground in silence and Reja looked toward the camp site, not hearing anymore screams. She quickly made her way over towards the area and hid behind a tent as she saw a bandit pass by by with a larger sword. She peeked out after he left and saw that most of the women and children, including Noora, and Noha were unconscious, while the men including Waseef were being held captive. Reja took a deep breath and tried to strategize what'd be the best plan of action at this point. She looked at a group of bandits near the caravans, unloading the cargo, and then looked around the site to see several more bandits walking about. She glanced down at the knife she was holding and frowned, how on earth was this going to help her against those large swords? She didn't have any wood planks like the last time she went against someone with a sword. She glanced over at one man closer to the tent she was behind and was about to move towards him when a sudden pair of hands wrapped around her mouth and pulled her downward deeper into the shadows. She squirmed and wriggled, desperate the break loose when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! Hey! It's me, it's _me_! Stop kicking!" Tahir whispered harshly to her as he let her go. She jumped away from him and tried to catch her breath.

"Were you trying to scare me to death!" she whispered loudly and he put his finger to his lips.

"No, I just didn't know if you would scream or not if I came up behind you!"

"Well, I wouldn't have! Who do you take me for?"

He shrugged. "Well, clearly not a girl." Reja fought the urge to ram him in the ribs and looked back around the tent to see if they had stirred any interest. They hadn't. She breathed out in relief.

She peered back over at Tahir. "How did you get away?" he shrugged, _again_ in a nonchalant way.

"I have my ways." she eyed him suspiciously.

"Well, what do we do?" she asked him as he moved closer to her, closing the distance between their bodies and glanced around the tent. Reja looked away awkwardly.

"Okay, I think I've got it. You see the bandits over there by the caravan? Well, one of us is going to need to create a distraction over there so that the other can go and take care of the several bandits who are holding the men captive. Do you think you can do it?"

"So you want me to make a distraction, got it."

He then looked at her with concern in his eyes."You sure?" Reja just smiled at him and nodded.

"You can count on me." Reja said before looking around and then immediately moving around objects until she arrived closer to the caravans. 'You can count on me' she replayed in her head, jeez where did this confidence come from? She hadn't exactly thought of one single idea besides...well...the most craziest one...and probably the stupidest one. She glanced about noting three bandits walking to their own separate caravan carrying things back and forth. She saw around three or four more standing near the bandits caravan. Then she noted two more bandits inside of the caravan handing things to the three men. She shook her head, about nine bandits to distract. Great. She was ging to get herself killed. She looked down at the ground trying to breath when Nooras smiling face popped into her mind, as did Waseefs, Noha's, then Azzam's, and Melek's. She had to do this, to save her companions and then to eventually reunite with the people she cared about. She clenched her fists and stepped out of the shadows.

"Hey bandits!" she called out loudly and they all turned to look at her. "Aren't you missing one?" she said and they all glared at her, grabbed their swords and began to approach her cautiously. One came close enough and charged with his sword, but she surprised herself by evading the sword with a swing of her knife and brought her knee up to his stomach, he keeled over out of breath, and then came another at her from the side and she crossed blades with him. For the first couple of his swings she used her knife and clashed with his own but then as she was evading another swing, she saw out of the corner of her eye, another bandit swing his sword up high. She saw it before it collided with her but it still managed to swing a large cut at her skin and she cried out in pain.

She gripped the spot on her arm that was now profusely bleeding and glared at the bandits who were surrounding her. As she stepped back she saw another one jab his knife at her from her right and she dodged it but not close enough and it cut her on her shoulder. Then just as she was reeling back from the pain another man came at her from the front, but this one she was able to cross blades with, however, she could see that he was much larger than the others, so when he suddenly shoved at her with brute force she tripped backward to the ground, dropping her knife. She then looked over towards it in desperation but it was out of reach and the man in front of her had already had his sword touching her chin.

"Heh, so much for the effort kid." he said with a smirk and she looked away, her expression unreadable. Was this really how it ended for her? Was she she never meant to go farther than this moment? In this one moment she felt vulnerable, and weak. Just like she'd always felt when she was younger and even more incapable. She couldn't even beat several bandits, how was she ever going to brave the world to find her brother at this point? She let out a small laugh. Pathetic. Useless. Was fate really this cruel? All she had wanted was to see her brother again. Was this ultimately what was destined for her?

All of a sudden just as she had felt she had given up, she heard the softest most quietest sound that shouldn't have been even audible to the ears. A bird chirp. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw a golden bird fly past her. In that same instant she remembered a memory.

 _"...just try to be wary in the future, you don't need to put up with people like that, you be the bigger person, and show them just how strong you are."_ Reja could see her brothers face and his smile at her as he said those words and something inside her snapped. Instantly and without hesitation she reached her hand out and gripped the tip of the sword in front of her, not even flinching at the pain.

"What the?" the man above said as she looked up slowly at him and he flinched at her expression. Fierce and savage. Unyielding and without fear. The man could feel the intimidation from her and knew that she had somehow changed in her demeanor, and yet just a few moments ago she had been pathetically under his sword. Somehow she had changed, she had become-he looked at her again and felt fear overcome him. She looked like she could kill. A frail girl like this could even be capable of such a look was impossible, and yet, she actually intimidated him. She held on tight, resulting in blood to trickle down her arm, and the bandit above shook off his slight fear and tried to wrench the sword free but couldn't and he stepped on her, knocking the breath out of her, but she still wouldn't let go.

"Why, you bitch! Let go!" he said continuing to kick and step on her. She gasped for air and coughed but still wouldn't let go.

"I have been kicked around my whole life as a nobody." The bandit stopped kicking her and looked at her "...as someone too poor to do anything with life. I've always let it get to me, especially now in the face of death." she smiled downward. "Sorry Melek, I almost gave up on myself." she looked up and glared at the man above her. "But not anymore. I will no longer be tormented by those who try to stand above me. I will never again allow anyone to take my life for granted, especially myself!" Reja said taking her other hand and gripping the sword, and using all of her strength to rip the sword out of his hands and toss it away. She slowly stood with blood still dripping from her hands, her shoulder, and her arm and once again glared at the bandits with the same savage, aggressive intensity. The bandits seemed to be frightened and some even took a couple steps back.

She held her fists up ready to fight once again when, and loud cry erupted from behind the bandits and several of the caravan men broke through and began an all out brawl of bandit against caravan man. Reja took this chance to grab her knife and faced the larger bandit once again who came at her relentlessly with his fist held high, but even with Reja's new resolve she could feel her vision blurring and her inner self weakening. She stumbled as a Tahir stepped in front of her and blocked the bandit from reaching her. Tahir boxed with him for a few swings before the battle initially ended with Tahir tripping him and knocking him out. Reja smiled and fell to the ground.

"Reja!" she heard her name called out. "My god, the amount of blood." she could hear the voice say and she weakly opened her eyes to see him holding her. She brought her hand up to his face and let out a very weak smile.

"I did it, Melek. I overcame my weakness." she then closed her eyes and passed out unconscious.

...

Far above in the dark night sky a distinctly cloaked man in black watched from his floating carpet as the young girl lay sleeping in the older boys arms. The cloaked man smiled.

"Aw, and even after we went through all the trouble of showing those bandits the way, they still weren't successful. I guess it just goes to show we can't put our faith in the wrong people." a short blonde girl chirped from beside the cloaked man.

"Yes, we must be careful who we choose Riaz, but it also seems as though we underestimated our little pawn. Next time it won't be so easy, I trust you with this task Riaz." the cloaked man spoke in a deep voice and Riaz giggled.

"Of course, Master Emin." she said smirking down at the scene below.


End file.
